Vegas

  • Vegas officials reviewing marathon illness claims

    Posted: December 10th, 2011 - 4:00am by Doug Powell

    Some runners who participated in the Rock `n' Marathon in Las Vegas say water passed out during the race made them sick.

    The Las Vegas Sun reports that health officials are investigating at least 10 claims of intestinal problems following the Sunday night marathon. They also have posted a survey to pinpoint a possible source for illness complaints that have been posted on Facebook.

    Race organizers filled lined buckets or trash cans with hydrant water, which was used to fill cups offered to racers along the course.

    Some runners complained that the water tasted odd or unclean.

    Race organizers say the hydrant water was tested and found to be safe.

    How about those trash cans?

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    Food Safety Policy  |  0 Comments
    fire hydrant, Illness, marathon, trash cab, vegas, Water
  • Dirty dining in Vegas: Hot N Juicy Crawfish

    Posted: October 28th, 2010 - 10:29pm by Doug Powell

    I’m not sure I understand the difference between crayfish and crawfish (wiki gives it a shot) but after posting about vibrio from crayfish, a devoted barfblogger sent this story from Las Vegas about the Hot and Juicy Crawfish.

    KTNV reports the Southern Nevada Health District recently paid a visit to the restaurant and slapped it with 49 demerits, prompting its closure.

    Inspectors found cooked crawfish being stored at the wrong temperature, live crawfish in a sink next to dirty dishes, dirty floors – including dead crawfish on the floor of a walk-in freezer - and dried food debris caked to shelves and "clean" kitchen knives.

    Inspectors also say three employees were working without valid health cards, a requirement for anyone working with or around food, and a kitchen worker was cited for not properly washing his hands after handling the trash.

    Open once again with an "A" grade after re-inspection, Channel 13 Action News stopped by Hot and Juicy Crawfish to speak with the manager about the restaurant's high number of demerits.

    An employee interviewed by KTNV -- Channel 13 Action News -- said the owner was not available but subsequently added, “We're not the dirtiest restaurant in Las Vegas. It was a lot of little technicalities. “
     

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    Restaurant Inspection  |  2 Comments
    Closed, Hot N Juicy Crawfish, inspection, Sink, vegas
  • Dirty Dining and Blue Ribbon Dining Vegas-style

    Posted: October 9th, 2010 - 1:34pm by Doug Powell

    KTNV reports that Las Vegas’ Yun Nan Garden on Schiff Drive off of Valley View regularly serves Chinese Szechuan cuisine to patrons. But a total of 46 demerits caused the Southern Nevada Health District to force the restaurant to close its doors.

    The restaurant's walk-in cooler registered at 46 degrees, too warm for properly storing food. Beef, chicken, and pork sitting out at an unsafe temperature created what inspectors called a "potentially hazardous" situation.

    Then, inspectors found a large cooking pot covered with food debris sitting with clean dishware. A food handler was also observed sticking their finger into a wok to taste the food before they resumed cooking – without washing their hands.

    Also, two different employees were found to be working without health cards, which are required paperwork for anyone with a restaurant job.

    Now that Yun Nan Garden has re-opened after re-inspection, Channel 13 stopped by to speak with the owner about what changes had been made. He assured us everything was once again up to code.

    And, when media outlets do the dirty dining stuff, they usually get business pressure to praise the worthy as well. If I owned a restaurant and was doing everything right, I’d market my excellent food safety any way I could – but only if I was sure I was doing everything right.

    KTNV also reported the Florida Cafe Cuban Bar and Grill is on Las Vegas Boulevard just south of Charleston has been open since 1998 and is a restaurant with a good record. The latest visit by the Southern Nevada Health District was to inspect the new buffet now serving up Cuban dishes on the weekends. The results were zero demerits with food at the right temperatures and a clean set up, safe for waiters and customers enjoying the food.

    The Florida Cafe Cuban Bar and Grill has consistently earned an A grade with the exception of one C grade in 2001.

    The Florida Cafe wasn't the only recent restaurant to receive zero demerits. The Dive Bar on East Tropicana and the Michael Mina Restaurant at the Bellagio did as well.

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    Restaurant Inspection  |  1 Comment
    Ocean's Eleven, restaurant inspection, vegas
  • Dirty dining Vegas style: Souper Salad

    Posted: August 14th, 2010 - 4:29pm by Doug Powell

    This is the way to handle a bad restaurant inspection, especially with the television cameras rolling: take responsibility, fix things, and no whining.

    KTNV reports the Souper Salad was issued with 29 demerits by the Southern Nevada Health District, primarily related to a salad bar that wasn’t keeping foods at the proper temperature.

    When Contact 13 stopped at the restaurant, Souper Salad was right in the middle of a re-inspection. The manager, Jeff Brooks, took time to explain to us his concerns about the restaurant's C grade. "It was definitely a concern and that's why we took care of the steps as needed."

    He says he had all the food at the salad bar thrown out, and that the salad bar was adjusted to the appropriate temperature. And in the end, Brooks says he stands by the quality of his restaurant. "Unfortunately sometimes these things happen. I do care about the type of food, the temperatures of the foods I feed to the public. I'm not one of these managers that doesn't care about it."

    We spoke with the Health District, which confirms, the restaurant was re-inspected. Souper Salad made the necessary changes to go from 29 demerits down to only 4, enough for an A grade. Looking into their history, this was actually their first C grade in 3 years.
     

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    inspection, salad bar, souper salad, Temperature, vegas